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The baby boomer generation is getting older and heavier — which means that over the coming decades, a lot of Americans are likely to develop knee problems as they age.

Researchers around the world have found that knee pain is common in people who are 65 and older. A recent British study in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism found that nearly two-thirds of women aged 50 and over experienced persistent, incident, or intermittent knee pain. And in the United States, about 25 percent of women and 16.5 percent of men over age 70 report having knee pain, according to a paper in the December 2011 Annals of Internal Medicine.

Knee Pain and Advancing Age: The Connection

"We can look at the knees like any other joint in the body. We're fighting gravity on a regular basis, and with every step we take there's some wear and tear in the joint," says Joel Press, MD, medical director of the Spine and Sports Rehabilitation Center at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. "The more years and the more steps you take, the more wear and tear there can be."

Though it's not just about getting older, adds Dr. Press. Certain factors that can go hand-in-hand with aging may increase your chances of knee pain:

Osteoarthritis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 14 percent of Americans over the age of 24 have osteoarthritis. This is a common type of arthritis in which the cartilage that protects the bones in your knees breaks down, leaving you more vulnerable to knee pain. After the age of 65, that number rises steeply to nearly 34 percent. Experts have found that, in most cases, knee pain in older people is due to osteoarthritis.

Obesity. If you gain weight as you age, as many people do, those extra pounds add up to more load that your knees have to bear, Press says. Your knees feel the effects of the extra wear and tear from carrying any extra weight. Along with age, being overweight is a leading factor that raises your risk of developing osteoarthritis.

Muscle changes. Between the ages of 20 and 60, your muscles may shrink in size by roughly 40 percent. As a result, you lose strength. The muscles in your hips and legs take up some of the force on your legs that results from walking and doing other activities, Press says. Losing this muscular support as you age leaves you more vulnerable to knee pain.

Knee Pain and Advancing Age: Stay Strong and Healthy

Even if you're at an age when more and more of your friends are developing the problem, research has shown that you can help prevent knee pain by taking the following steps:

Lose weight. In one study, authors found that overweight people with knee osteoarthritis enjoyed decreased disability after losing 5 percent of their weight — just nine pounds if you weigh 180 pounds — over a period of four months.

Exercise more. There is strong evidence supporting land-based exercises, such as strength training or walking, for knee osteoarthritis. According to a recent study, exercise reduced knee pain and helped participants move around more easily. It, provided benefits similar to those from non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

And here's one final important point to keep in mind if you're worried about age-related knee pain: Although a sizeable portion of the older population does have knee pain, the majority doesn’t. So if you haven’t developed knee pain with age, take steps to ensure that you stay pain-free.